AS THEY trudge across open fields, battling the elements, Britain's army of metal detectors are often looked upon with a degree of amusement.

Three from Liverpool have had the last laugh, however, after discovering what was described in a court as the equivalent of "winning the lottery".

Peter Skelly, William May and Jospeh Perry, all from Aintree, have travelled to North Wales for the last five years in an effort to hunt for ancient treasure.

Last February, they hit upon a field in the Rossett area, near Wrexham, and, during their first weekend, found a Bronze Age gold axe.

A week later, spurred on by their first find, the friends travelled to the same area where they found yet another axe and a gold bead.

And, during their third and last weekend, around February 25, they made their greatest haul - which included a twisted gold wire bracelet, a necklace called a torc, a bracelet, a pendant and a collection of yet more beads and rings - all made of gold.

These were found buried alongside two palstaves - a type of axe - and a chisel within a small pot. The gold ranges from 80% to 98% pure.

In all ,14 artefacts of gold, bronze and ancient pottery were discovered, all believed to date from between 1300-1100 BC - the Middle Bronze Age.

Yesterday, a treasure trove inquest was held to establish whether it could officially be labelled treasure and to decide where it would be kept.

No financial figure was placed on the discovery, but, it was said, the nearest such find was in Kent, in 2001, when a gold Bronze Age Ringlemere Cup was discovered and later valued for £270,000.

Mr Skelly and his two friends, who are members of the Lancashire and Cheshire Metal Detectors Club, told the hearing: "We have been detecting in the North Wales area for the last five years because we enjoy this area and the landowners are very friendly towards us. In this case we just liked the look of the land.

"We've had very good finds, but this was the find of a lifetime, the metal detectors version of winning the lottery. We've found silver coins before, I have found brooches and coins back to the Romans, but this is unheard of - going back 3,300 years."

Of the last weekend, when they made their most significant find, Mr Skelly added: "We started pulling up more pieces of gold and it was very exciting, we were spending about six hours a day there. We realised we had found a major hoard, we started to let our imaginations run wild. I said I bet there is a gold torc (necklace) here and 25 minutes later we found a gold torc necklace."

The artefacts are now being held at the National Museum and Gallery of Wales in Cardiff which says they are the first of their kind to be found in Britain.

Additionally, only one or two similar objects had been discovered in north-western France. Experts believe the hoard was probably buried as a gift to the gods by a wealthy farming community.

A spokeswoman for the National Museum said: "The variety of gold objects represented makes this of key importance to our understanding of gold working and adornment in Britain between 1300-1100BC.

North East Wales deputy coroner John Gittins said the museum's report said the find was treasure which the National Museum would want to acquire.

The treasure will be put on public show at the museum later this month and the three enthusiasts will be invited to attend with their families.

It will be independently valued by at least two separate committees and an offer made to the three finders.